


Matched

by theinklingsoftime



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Genre: Based on Matched by Ally Condie, Basically, F/M, Kidge - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Soulmates AU, kidgance i suppose, love triangle for now, plance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 23:00:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinklingsoftime/pseuds/theinklingsoftime
Summary: Choose wisely.





	Matched

_Your Match is procured from a pool of participants, submitted once at the age of seventeen; however, guarantees of a match in your range and sector is not fully likely. You Match is Chosen based upon gene algorithms, to Match the most suitable person to yourself. Once Chosen, you and your Match can marry at the age of eighteen, or else will be designated for Single Life._

_You and your Match will marry at the age of eighteen._

_You and your Match will marry._

_You and Your Match._

_Your Match._

_Match-_

“Katie?” Someone called, and the hazel eyes of Kathryn Demetria Holt snapped open.

“Katie?”

She lay still on her bed, the sheets wrapped around her, like ivory vines.

_What happened-_

“Katie!” Her door slammed open, and there stood her older brother, panting like he had just run a mile.

“I just got back from the Arbor!” He said excitedly, eyes sparkling. “The next banquet date is has been decided.”

She rolled her eyes, and tried to sit up. “Matt, was that really necessary? It’s six in the morning.”

“Actually, it’s ten past seven.” He chuckled. “You overslept.”

She sat up. “What?”

“Twelve minutes past seven, actually.” He said, glancing at his wrist-port, just as a flash of white pajamas pushed past him. “Hey!”

“I’m late!” She yelled, wrestling the hairband out of her frizzy hair, the light brown strands waving gently as she raced to the bathroom.

“And she calls me the idiot.” Matthew said to himself, and then followed.

* * *

Her clothes on and hair brushed, Katie rushed through the halls of her house, skidding into the kitchen, where her father sat, calmly drinking a cup of tea.

“You’re going to be late.” Samuel Holt said, eyes on her port screen.

“Yeah, realized that about ten minutes ago!” Katie muttered as she scrambled through the cupboards, grabbing a microwave meal from the pantry.

“Are you excited?” He asked her as she pulled the meal out of it’s casing and quickly stuffed it in her mouth.

“About what?” She said, chewing furiously on a piece of what looked like a carrot.

“Matt said the Match banquet date was chosen.”

“Matt is a sap.” She rolled her eyes, and chugged a glass of water.

“Swallow.” Her father said sternly, and she did. “And it’s not just sappy-it’s a milestone, Kit-Kat.”

“Milestone? Yeah, sure. Milestone is when you, I dunno, get your degree. Or your third one. Not the second one, though-,” She cut off, and looked sheepishly at her father. “Not that a second degree isn’t cool?”

“Good save.” Samuel Holt chuckled, and thumbed his port.

“Like….when you have a kid. Or, graduate! But Match banquet? Please, half the people don’t even get a Match their first time.”

Samuel sipped his tea. “Thirty past sev-,” 

But she was already gone.

* * *

The morning was grey-the fog rolled over from the Four Hills, and not a touch of blue sky could be seen.

She walked quickly along the pavement, her standard issue brown jacket tucked by her sides, the light scarf she had wrapped around her throat as an afterthought waved lightly in the wind.

“Hey! Hey!” She heard behind her, and suddenly felt a wall of warm flesh hit her head on.

“Lance!” She said exasperatedly, and untangled herself from his shirt.

“Sorry.” He said apologetically. “I tripped.” 

And they began to walk together.

“You heard about the-,” Lance began.

“Match banquet date? Several times, actually.”

The wind whistled between them.

“You don’t sound excited.” He said, hands in his pockets, bag at his side.

“I’m not, really.” She confessed, as they stopped at the crosswalk.

“Why?”

“It’s just a Match banquet. I can’t even participate this year.”

“Oh-oh, right, you skipped a grade.”

“Matt’s excited.”

“It’s his….second?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh……he nervous?”

“Yeah…..he’s super nervous. I mean, it’s not his last one, but……last hurrah, I guess.”

“That’s….wow. I’d be nervous.”

“Yeah, I know you would.” She quipped, and he smacked her shoulder.

“Ouch!”

“Says the girl who face-planted off a bike and said ‘oh, cool’?” Lance snorted. 

“Bite me.”

* * *

The weeks went by; the air grew colder.

Matt stopped running in the morning, and Katie was thankful-she got a full hour of extra sleep because of it.

Lance was fidgety, which she could understand.

Match Banquets were stressful, especially the first one.

(She wasn’t looking forward to hers, but her parents would never have let her apply for a Single, like a former mentor and friend of hers, Allura de Altea. Allura was the daughter of a Councilman, however, and had more freedom than she would admit)

Lance had taken to waiting for her before school each morning, instead of meeting her there, which confused her-he lived closer to the Academy than she did, but perhaps he liked the walk.

He was always one for exercise.

* * *

“I can’t find my tie!” The shriek echoed through the house, and Katie winced at the accompanying voice crack. “Who has my tie?”

“Not me!” She shouted, scrolling through her messages on her port. 

“Check the laundry, perhaps?” Colleen Holt called. “I don’t think I washed it, though.”

“It’s not there!” Matt cried, his hands wringing as he threw himself on Katie’s bed. “Oh, why? Why tonight of all nights?”

“Calm yourself, ma’am.” She said, and patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

“Agh!” He said frustratedly into her mattress. “I’m going to die!”

Someone clicked their tongue, and Katie looked up to see her mother in her doorway, a blue tie in her hand. “Such a drama queen.”

“Mother of mine!” Matt said, throwing himself into her arms. 

“Yes, yes, don’t cry on my blouse.” Colleen chuckled, and hung the tie around his neck. “Stand up straight, please.”

Matt complied, and Katie felt her port buzz, looking down to see a blue message bubble pop up.

 **Allura:** How is your brother?

 **Katie:** Fine. A bit more emotional than usual, but that’s to be taken into consideration, of course.

 **Allura:** How are you? You will be with him, yes?

 **Katie:** Unwillingly. But fine; I had some particularly salty noodles, so I had water forced down my throat by my mother. I’m recovered.

 **Allura:** See you at the Banquet, then?

 **Katie:** Of Course. 

**Allura de Altea has disconnected from the Server.**

Looking up, Katie’s lips quirked up into a half-grin as Matt examined himself in her mirror.

“Do I look okay?” He said, biting his lip.

“Snazzy.” She said, touching his arm. “And you’ll be fine, Matt. I know this is the time.”

“Okay.” He said nervously, and then, stiff as a wooden board, walked out of her room.

Her port dinged, and a message bubble popped up.

 **Lance:** I think this was a bad idea.

 **Lance:** You’ll be here, right?

Katie smiled to herself-his nervousness was kind of….cute.

 **Katie:** Absolutely.

**Kathryn Holt has disconnected from the Server.**

* * *

Arus City’s City Hall was jam-packed with bodies.

Glimmering gowns like the gossamer wings of butterflies sparkled under the chandeliers, and silken suits shone in the pale lights of street lamps.

Katie tried to pull her dress down-it was far too short for her liking.

“Stop pulling.” Her mother whispered. “It draws attention.”

“But it’s short!” She near whined. “And itchy.”

“You look wonderful.” The voice was placating, and so Katie grumbled-but a bit more quietly.

Matt was silent as they walked through the halls lined with portraits and flickering candles, and Katie sped up a bit and tugged his sleeve.

“You okay, sport?”

He swallowed in reply, and she felt guilty for teasing him.

“Look, Matty, you’ll be fine-,” But he turned around suddenly and gripped her arm. 

“What if it doesn’t happen?” He said fearfully. “What if nothing happens, and I got to the Third and nothing happens-Katie, I don’t want to be alone.” His eyes glistened.

“Matthew Holt.” She said firmly. “You are going to walk into that hall, sit down, eat a couple of prawns and whatever fancy food they have this year, and your name will be called and guess what? You’re gonna see your Match and they’re gonna see you and you’re going to be fine. You hear me?”

He bit his lip and nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek. Then he threw his arms around her, his back wracked with sobs.

She sighed. “And no crying. Who’d want to Match with you if they see you crying like a baby?”

He stood up, cheeks wet. “You’re a good sister, Katie. You know that?”

She shrugged as the Holt Seniors caught up with them and they continued to walk. “You could stand to tell me more.”

They passed through a pair of white doors, and the siblings gasped in sync as they were met with a sight one only saw on tele-dramas.

Twenty feet-long tables spanned the room, a space for dancing already cleared away. 

Food on glistening gold plates and crystal glasses were set upon white tablecloths and chandeliers dripped with jewels from the ceiling.

“Wow.” Katie and Matt said in harmony.

“They didn’t go out this much last time, did they?” Katie said, scratching her neck and suddenly feeling very underdressed.

“I think it’s because there’s an anniversary this year.” Matt said out of the side of  his mouth.

“Huh.” Katie said, eyes already on some fancy bread. “You go find the seats, I’m going to…..find some friends.”

“Got it.” Matt saluted her, and rushed away to find their parents.

Katie chuckled. “What a dork.”

“I can feel my ears burning.” She heard someone say behind her, and she whipped around, hands clenched in fists. 

She stopped, however, when she met a pair of sparkling ocean-blue eyes, a cheshire grin stretched upon tanned skin-

“Wow.” She couldn’t help herself.

Lance smirked, hands in his pockets. 

“You…..you clean up nice.” She said slowly, and Lance’s eyes widened.

“No snarky comment?” He said, disbelievingly. “No comeback, no quip? Have I finally broken the great enigma that is Katie-,”

She slugged him. 

“Ow!” 

“You baby.” She laughed. “Now, come on, I want some bread.” 

And as she teetered toward the table on her honestly too-tall-heels, she tried to push away the image of Lance in his suit, with a tie that almost matched his eyes.

* * *

“Plaxum Gerani.” A woman called from the front, and a girl in a silken blue gown stood nervously, and walked to the front, where she was led onto a glass platform in front of a screen.

“Do you, Miss Gerani, do accept the terms of a possible Match?”

The girl swallowed. “I do.”

The screen lit up with a face, and a cheer erupted as a boy shot up from his seat and nearly cracked a goblet.

The girl in the front had tears running down her cheeks as she embraced the boy, and Matt leaned over.

“I think they knew each other.” He hissed, and Katie glared at him.

“Wow, good observation, you dingus.”

“What? It’s plenty rare.” He said back snootily, and suddenly-

“Matthew Holt.”

Matt turned white. 

“Go!” She whispered, and he stood mechanically.

Once upon the platform, the woman turned to him.

“Do you, Mister Holt, do accept the terms of a possible Match?”

Matt’s face was now a shade of green, and he nodded mutely.

“Mister Holt-,”

“I do!” He said quickly, and flushed at his pitchy voice.

The screen buffered, and a chorus of ‘Ohs’ filled the hall.

Matt looked petrified, but suddenly a picture suddenly came into focus, one of a man with black hair, cut in military standard, and dark eyes.

Matt’s eyes widened.

The assembly burst into applause, Katie standing up and whistling at her brother, who was being introduced to his Match with a wide grin.

“Wahooo!” She yelled, clapping as hard as she could, Matt smiling like an idiot as he held his Match’s hand.

He looked the happiest she had ever seen him.

* * *

After a Lemony Martinez walked hand-in-hand with her Match back to her table, the woman called-

“Lance McClain.”

From her spot on her table, Katie could see her friend’s trembling figure stand and slowly walk towards the front.

When he was reciting the pledge, she found herself holding her breath.

_I……don’t want him to leave._

“I do.” Lance answered the woman’s question, and the screen stayed black.

There was a gasp, and Katie could see Lance’s eyes widen just the slightest, and the woman gently guided him down.

“Next year.” Katie heard someone say sadly, and the room was hushed as Lance walked back to his table.

Katie looked at her lap, avoiding the blue eyes that seemed as though you could very well drown in tears.

* * *

The months went by; the oak tree outside the Holt domain lost it’s leaves, it’s skeletal arms waving slightly in the snow, and soon had little green buds upon each branch.

Katie grew no taller, but there was a change; perhaps it was the twinkle in her eye (her mother swore it was from her father, while her father swore it was from her mother) that hadn’t been there in the previous year.

Perhaps it was her cut hair, once hanging to her waist, now brushing her shoulders in a bob reminiscent of the Old Ages, where the dancers in tea-length dresses would tap their way on polished floors with men in dapper suits.

Perhaps it was the glasses she once never removed, but now walked freely without, her hazel eyes covered in long lashes.

No one knew-not even Katie herself.

But she could appreciate the change.

* * *

It was nearing a year-Matt and his Match, a Shirogane Takashi, were celebrating their one year anniversary in two weeks.

Shiro, as Matt called him dearly, was a trainee at the military base, and Katie’s brother fawned over his “man in uniform”, as he so lovingly called him.

Katie liked Shiro.

He was good at chess (better than Matt, who had no patience for the game), and played rounds upon rounds with her on the weekends.

He was a good Match for Matt, she decided.

(She wouldn’t tell Matt, though; his head was far too large)

* * *

The night of her First Banquet, she sat alone in her room, the faint moonlight streaming onto the screen of her port.

 **Lance:** Are you excited?

She hesitated.

 **Katie:**  I don’t know.

 **Lance:** Nervous?

 **Katie:**  Kind of.

 **Lance:**  Don’t be scared. I’ll be right there with you.

She smiled to herself, her cheeks a bit red.

 **Katie:** You’re a sap.

 **Lance:** If my lady requests, so be it.

A snort rose in her throat.

 **Katie:** Thanks. See you there.

**Kathryn Holt has disconnected from the Server.**

* * *

She wore green taffeta.

They had it delivered the week before, and each night she had gone to sleep with that beautiful green taffeta dress in her mind.

Her hair was pinned back, and her mother had tearily handed her a pair of gold earrings, which gently hung near her neck.

She felt….pretty for once.

They arrived at the City Hall, the windows blazing with light, and Katie shivered a bit.

“Are you cold?” Colleen asked worriedly.

“No. I’m fine.” Katie answered, and walked a bit more briskly.

They met a beaming Matt and Shiro by the door, and Matt embraced her.

“Nervous?” He whispered in her ear.

“Nah.” She shrugged him off, grinning up at her brother. “I’m not a  _noob_  like you are.”

They walked in as a group, but not before Matt slugged her in the arm.

“Ouch!”

* * *

“Leon Aftertail.”

“Ilia Babar.”

The names go by as her plate is slowly filled with food and consumed.

She counted them as they each went by- _fifteen more left._

“Madeline Elumine.”

“Gigi Ferici.”

_Five more left._

“Alexandra Harbury.”

_One more left._

And then she heard her name-

“Kathryn Holt.”

She stood, and she could see Matt’s eyes on her, slowly urging her on.

She walked shakily to the platform, and ascended the glass steps, her worries of falling mere background noise now.

She had bigger things to worry about.

“Do you, Miss Holt, accept the terms of a possible Match?”

She hesitated.

Did she?

Did she want to be tied down forever, to some stranger who’s face was going to light up on the screen above her, sealing her fate like sealing a tomb?

Her eyes swiveled around the hall, and then-

She stopped.

Lance was smiling at her, those beautiful big blue eyes just staring at her, and her heart felt as though it would burst, perhaps just for a chance to maybe hope-

“I do.” She answered, and there seemed to be a general exhale, a quick look at her family showing her mother tearing up, and her father rubbing his temples.

She turned towards the screen, which flashed to a face.

A face she knew so well.

A cheer rose in the hall, and she couldn’t breath because that was  _his face_  and he was coming closer and-

She tripped off the glass podium, the heels holding up her tiny ankles that she had protested two hours before finally betraying her, a silent scream rising in her throat until she felt herself land in someone’s arms and it was  _him_  and-

She kissed him.

Kissing was a form of Public Displays of Affection, but Katie didn’t give a damn and he was kissing her back and-

Her eye caught the screen again.

And it was quick-the subtle flashing of the screen to a face that was  _not_  Lance’s and then back again.

You would have to be incredibly tuned in to the slightest changes on a computer screen-but Katie studied the codes that floated across her port at night like she was starving and they were her only food.

And perhaps she was the only who saw it, she thought.

That is, until she noticed Shiro, lovely, calm Shiro, walking quickly out of the hall, hand clenched in a fist around a mini-port, the screen already glowing-

* * *

_Blue eyes._

She could drown in them.

They were on a balcony, two floors above the dining hall, his jacket draped around her shoulders, her legs in his lap.

“Did you-,” He began, and she could never help interrupting him.

“Guess?” She finished, and then flushed. “Never.”

He smiled shyly and then leaned in again, and she did as well, and their lips  _just touched-_

And it’s like electricity until she suddenly remembered that face, and Shiro’s clenched fist, and real electricity seemed to spiral between them until she pull back.

He looked at her, wide eyes.

“Are you-,”

“I’m fine.” And she cracked a smile. “Just tired.”

He quickly clambered to his feet. 

“I can drive you home.”

He had a car.

“Sure.”

And she could almost pretend everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This is Mature, but I'm not planning on doing any rated R stuff at the moment, but this will be including some pretty heavy stuff without said R stuff. Find me on Tumblr @theinklingsoftime.


End file.
